Continuously-operating rolling-mill.



B. QUAST. GONTINUOUSLY OPERATING ROLLING MILL.

APPLICATION 11.51) JUNE 15, 1914.

19128,?9? mama Jan. 5, 1915.

[WWMW -BRUNO QUAST, OF COLOGNE-DEUTZ, GERMANY.

CONTINUOUSLY-OPERATIN G ROLLING-MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, T9115.

Application filed June 15, 1914. Serial No. 845,302.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BRUNO QUAs'r, subject of the King of Prussia, residing at Cologne-Deutz, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Improved Continuously- Operating Rolling- Mills, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

The present invention relates to a continuously operating rolling mill with several pairs of rolls placed one behind another. In such rolling mills, as is well known, the speed of the rolling increases continuously at each separate pair of rolls from the commencement to the .end of the course corresponding to the increasing length and the diminishing thickness of the bar which is being rolled.

The present invention has for its object a considerable increase in the productivity of such rolling mills by means of a relatively simple improvement.

It is already known to make use of a pre- 5 liminary rolling mill of continuous roller trains, in which in a single passage, the ingot is reduced in size to a section of the requisite transverse thickness adapted for the finishing train. The greater the initial diameter of the material, the more roller frames placed one behind another must be contained in the continuous rolling train. A construction of this kind becomes therefore very costly, especially as correspondingly large driving engines are necessary for it. This applies especially to trains of rolls for middle iron sections which require greater ingot cross sections. For this purpose, therefore, almost universally, the normal triple preliminary train is retained with one or two rolling frames. The working with triple frames presupposes however that in the case of ingots of great weight, lifting tables are provided, whereby again the operation is at least not simplified.

According to the present invention, as applied to a continuous rolling mill of the above indicated kind, the separate pairs of rollers of each frame are made reversible and are provided with corresponding speed change gear, in order that the mill can be worked also as a return mill, that is to say, can be operated in the reversed direction. This object can be attained in various ways. It is possible to provide each separate frame with a separate driving power provided with two speeds, whereby the rollers may receive the necessary different speeds of rotation; but it also possible to supply to the rolls the different speeds adapted respectively to the forward and the backward rolling from a common source of power which is reversible. This can be effected for instance by means of pairs of gear wheels or other transmission organs such as belts, ropes, chains and so forth. If the transmission is by means of gear wheels engaging with each other in pairs, then these wheels may be so coupled or uncoupled on their shafts that the speeds of the separate pairs of rolls during the outward and the return course respectively may change proportionate to the requirement and consecutively. In the case of actuation from a common source of power which is reversible by means of mutually engaging pairs of gear wheels, the construction is preferably s0 arranged that one of the pairs of rolls is driven and that upon its driving shaft there are placed two gear wheels, directly or indirectly driven, of correspondingly differing diameters so that on the outward and the return course the wheels can be coupled up correspondingly to their shafts in order that on the reversal of the source of power, the mill can work also in the reverse direction. By these means, it becomes possible to roll forward and backward with a single set of rolls in two or more frames placed consecutively. As the speed of rolling of the separate frames consecutively arranged must increase, with the diminishing thickness of the bar or ingot to be rolled, in corresponding proportion, it is necessary that upon the reversal of the direction of the rolling, the speed of'the separate frames must be al-' tered so that the above-mentioned condition (increasing speed of the separate consecutive rolling frames) is fulfilled. Therefore, in general, there must be provided for each rolling frame two different speeds, the one for the forward rolling, the other for the backward rolling; This condition is fulfilled by the above described construction according to my invention.

In the drawing is illustrated a rolling mill with three frames arranged consecutively one after the other, the rollers of which are driven from a common source of power.

Figure 1 shows an elevation. Fig. 2 a plan of this roller mill.

The three pairs of rollers a, 5, 0 are actuated by means of the three frames 0 which in turn are placed in communication with a train of gearing. Assuming that at the shaft end 1) the source of power is coupled up and the transmission ratio of the small to the large wheels is as 7 to 10, then when the shaft end p has received a speed of rotation of one-hundred rotations per minute, the rollers a will rotate at approximately seventy, b at approximately one hundred and the rollers c at approximately 140 revolutions per minute.

Assuming the rolled material to pass first between the rolls a, then the keyed coupling Jr is connected with the wheel f which in turn engages with the key wheel e and re ceives therefrom seventy revolutions per minute. The wheel 03 further engages with the wheel 71 which by means of the keyed coupling n imparts to the rolls 0 about 140 revolutions per minute. The wheels 9 and h are uncoupled and run loose on the shafts. After the rolled material has traversed the three frames the couplings la and n are opened and the wheels 7 and i uncoupled. Then the couplings Z and m are engaged. The source of power is reversed and the material then passes on its backward course again through the rollers 0 which are connected with the source of power through the wheels 0 and h and there is imparted to the rollers about seventy revolutions. The rollers 12 receive about and the rollers a about revolutions by means of the wheels 03 and g. If the rolled material for instance is to receive nine shapings, then a threefold passage through this ro ling mill will suffice, whereas 1n an ordinary three-frame, nine passages are necessary and in a continuous rolling mill of the hitherto known construction, nine separate roller frames will be required.

7 As already stated, the new rolling mill is dapted both for the preliminar and also for the finished rolling of the rol ed articles of all kinds.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is A rolling mill of the type described comprising a plurality of consecutively arranged roll frames, a plurality of pairs of rolls in said frames, one of said pairs of rolls being positively driven by a driving shaft, gear wheels of different diameters fixed on said shaft,'two loose gear wheels of difierent diameters connected with certain of the other rolls and driven by said fixed wheels, said loose wheels being provided with means whereby they may be coupled up on their forward and backward movements respectively, with their respective rolls.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

BRUNO QUAST.

Witnesses GUSTAV BROAS, LOUIS VANDORY. 

